Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, known in Japan as simply Nemo, is a 1989 animated feature film directed by Masami Hata and William T. Hurtz. Loosely based on the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, the film went through a lengthy development process with a number of screenwriters. Ultimately, the screenplay was credited to Chris Columbus and Richard Outten; the storyline and art style differed from the original version. The original soundtrack was penned by the Academy Award-winning Sherman Brothers. Plot Set in 1905 (the year the Little Nemo comic strip premiered in the New York Herald), the film opens with the young boy Nemo experiencing a nightmare in which he is pursued by a locomotive. Upon awakening the next day, he goes to see a parade welcoming a traveling circus. However, Nemo is unable to see the circus because his father and his mother are too busy to act as his chaperones. Later that night, Nemo imitates sleepwalking in an attempt to sneak some pie away, which acts against a promise he had made earlier to his mother. Upon falling asleep that night, Nemo is approached by figures from the parade. The circus organist introduces himself as Professor Genius and claims that they had been sent on a mission by King Morpheus, the king of a realm named Slumberland. The mission involves Nemo becoming the playmate of the princess, Camille. Although Nemo initially has reservations about interacting with royalty of the opposite gender, he decides to set off to fulfill his mission. Nemo is taken to Slumberland in a dirigible which he is allowed to drive, causing some chaos and is introduced to King Morpheus, who doubles as the circus ringmaster in Earth. Morpheus reveals that he summoned Nemo to become his heir to the throne. Morpheus gives Nemo a golden key and warns him of a door with a dragon insignia that must never be opened. Nemo is introduced to Princess Camille and the pair roam the entirety of Slumberland together. Afterward, Nemo meets the mischievous clown, Flip, who angers a group of cops and forces him and Nemo to hide out in an underground cave. There, Nemo discovers the door that Morpheus warned him not to open. Flip tempts Nemo into unlocking the door, which unleashes the dreaded Nightmare King. Nemo rushes back to Morpheus' castle in time for his coronation ceremony, where Nemo is handed the royal scepter, the only thing capable of defeating the Nightmare King should he ever return to Slumberland. In the middle of a dance session between Morpheus and Genius, the Nightmare King reaches the castle and steals Morpheus away. As the partygoers search for a scapegoat, Flip reveals Nemo to be responsible for the Nightmare King's escape. Nemo awakens in his home, which floods with seawater and ejects him into the ocean. Genius discovers Nemo and tells him not to blame himself for all that has happened. When the two return to Slumberland, Flip reveals that he has a map to Nightmare Land, where Morpheus is currently being held. Serena and her friends transform into the Sailor Scouts, revealing their secret identities to Nemo, Camille, Flip, and Genius. Sailor Scouts, Nemo, Camille, Flip, and Genius set off in a tugboat in search of Morpheus. They are soon sucked into a whirlpool and find themselves in the monster-infested Nightmare Land. The four come across a group of shapeshifting goblins who wish to aid in the quest to find Morpheus. The Nightmare King sends a flock of giant bats to seize the rescue party. Nemo attempts to use the scepter, but awakens in his bed instead. The goblins appear in Nemo's room and the group travels to Nightmare Castle by flying through a hole in the sky. However, they are subsequently imprisoned in the castle, where the Nightmare King demands possession of the scepter. Sailor Moon and Nemo soon combine their powers and use the scepter and the Silver Crystal to finally defeat and eliminate the Nightmare King. Slumberland celebrates the fall of the Nightmare Kingdom, after which Nemo once more awakens in his room. Nemo's parents finally agree to chaperone Nemo during his visit to the circus. Cast Sailor Senshi/Scouts *Terri Hawkes (Kae Araki in the Japanese adaption) as Usagi/Serena Tsukino / Sailor Moon *Karen Bernstein (Aya Hisakawa in the Japanese adaption) as Ami/Amy Mizuno / Sailor Mercury *Katie Griffin (Michie Tomizawa in the Japanese adaption) as Rei/Raye Hino / Sailor Mars *Susan Roman (Emi Shinohara in the Japanese adaption) as Makoto/Lita Kino / Sailor Jupiter *Stephanie Morgenstern (Rica Fukami in the Japanese adaption) as Minako/Mina Aino / Sailor Venus *Jill Frappier (Keiko Han in the Japanese adaption) as Luna *Ron Rubin (Yasuhiro Takato in the Japanese adaption) as Artemis *Toby Proctor (Tohru Furuya in the Japanese adaption) as Mamoru Chiba/Darien / Tuxedo Mask Characters in the film *Gabriel Damon (Takuma Gōno in the Japanese adaption) as Nemo: the protagonist of the movie. He is a human boy living in New York City who is taken to Slumberland to be the official playmate of Princess Camille; in actuality, however, he is being summoned to be the heir to the elderly King Morpheus. He is given the key to Slumberland, but is warned by the king to leave a door with a coiled dragon emblazoned on it closed. Sadly, he opens the aforementioned door when he is tempted by Flip and goes on a quest to restore Slumberland to its rightful glory, save King Morpheus and defeat the Nightmare King. *Mickey Rooney (Chikao Ōtsuka in the Japanese adaption) as Flip: a supporting protagonist of the movie. Described as a "frightful fellow" by Professor Genius, he is wanted throughout Slumberland for "having fun" (the bounty on his head is a sizeable one) and his only friend is his partner-in-crime: a bird named Flap. He tricks Nemo into accidentally releasing the Nightmare King and blames him for the ruin of Slumberland. He is in possession of a map of Nightmare Land (hand-drawn and written in his own special code) and serves as the guide to the Nightmare Castle until he is replaced by the Boomps. He has a serious smoking addiction. In the real world, he is a clown in a circus that stops in Nemo's town. *René Auberjonois (Kōichi Kitamura in the Japanese adaption) as Professor Genius: King Morpheus' advisor and a supporting protagonist of the movie. He comes to the real world to bring Nemo to Slumberland. A sophisticated man, he is quite punctual and prefers order as opposed to madness. He is quite a dancer, as he dances quite a bit during Nemo's coronation ceremony. In the real world, he is an organ player in a circus that stops in Nemo's town. *Danny Mann as Icarus: flying squirrel, Nemo's best friend and a supporting protagonist of the movie. Icarus is Nemo's only friend from the real world. He shows great concern for Nemo's wellbeing in a sense similar to that of two siblings. He speaks a mix of both squirrel and some English. His screech is painful to the ears of the Boomps. He detests being called a "little rat" (which Princess Camille mistakes him for). Unlike other squirrels, Icarus eats human food, like cookies. His initial relationship with Princess Camille, though rough, eventually changes for the better. *Bernard Erhard (Kenji Utsumi in the Japanese adaption) as King Morpheus: the elderly ruler of Slumberland and a supporting protagonist of the movie. He has protected Slumberland for years with the help of the royal scepter: an ancient weapon of great power. Though he is a child at heart, he knows when to be serious. He has Nemo brought to Slumberland so that he may become his heir to the throne. He gives Nemo the key to Slumberland, which can open any door; however, he warns Nemo of one door with a dragon symbol emblazoned on it that must never be opened. Like Professor Genius, he is quite a dancer, as he dances alongside the Professor during Nemo's coronation ceremony. When Nemo accidentally releases the Nightmare King, King Morpheus is captured and Nemo has to go and rescue him from Nightmare Land. In the real world, he is the ringmaster of a circus that stops in Nemo's town. *Bill Martin (Tarō Ishida in the Japanese adaption) as the Nightmare King: the main antagonist of the movie. He is a demonic creature who was locked behind a massive door until he was accidentally set free by Nemo, who was given the key to the door by King Morpheus. Once free, he captures King Morpheus as revenge for his imprisonment and then retreats to the Nightmare Castle. When Nemo goes to the castle to save King Morpheus, the Nightmare King has his minions capture Nemo's friends (Professor Genius, Flip and Princess Camille). He is shown to be quite temperamental, as he destroys several minions for the failure of just one of his underlings (the general of his army). The only thing that can defeat him is the legendary royal scepter. *Laura Mooney (Hiroko Kasahara in the Japanese adaption) as Princess Camille: the daughter of King Morpheus and a supporting protagonist of the movie. Though she initially acts somewhat spoiled, she eventually grows to like Nemo. She also grows fond of Icarus (and vice versa, despite a rough start). When her father is kidnapped by the Nightmare King, she takes over as ruler but decides to join Nemo in his quest to save King Morpheus. In the real world, she is the daughter of the ringmaster of a circus that stops in Nemo's town. *Greg Burson (Tesshō Genda in the Japanese adaption) as Nemo's father *Jennifer Darling (Mari Yokō in the Japanese adaption) as Nemo's mother *Neil Ross (Hiroshi Ōtake in the Japanese adaption) as Oompa *Alan Oppenheimer (Keiichi Nanba in the Japanese adaption) as Oomp *John Stephenson (Masaharu Satō in the Japanese adaption) as Oompo *Sidney Miller (Kōzō Shioya in the Japanese adaption) as Oompe *Michael Bell (Hiroko Emori in the Japanese adaption) as Oompy *Kathleen Freeman (Kimie Nakajima in the Japanese adaption) as the dance teacher *Bever-Leigh Banfield (Seiko Nakao in the Japanese adaption) as the woman *John Stephenson (Kazumi Tanaka in the Japanese adaption) as the dirigible captain *Bert Kramer (Yukimasa Kishino in the Japanese adaption) as a goblin: A hideous creature that serves as a member of the Nightmare King's army. They are sent by the Nightmare King to ensure that Nemo doesn't reach his castle and free King Morpheus. Though the goblins succeed in capturing most of Nemo's friends, they fail to capture Nemo himself and, when the Nightmare King finds out, he kills them all in a fit of rage. The only goblins to survive are the Boomps (who, in contrast to the other goblins, are not hideous and are actually friendly). *Beau Weaver (Tarō Arakawa in the Japanese adaption) as a policeman Category:Non-canon movies Category:Non-Disney films